Keeping Your Mobile Devices Secure

As businesses and the economy are slowly starting to reopen and adjust back to “normal” business hours, there are still many organizations that are continuing to allow remote workers.

Mobile devices are still the most used technology for people working remotely. Since most of these are used to access or store company sensitive data, keeping your mobile devices secure is critical.

The reality is that the biggest threat to your mobile devices isn’t hackers, it’s you! You are far more likely to lose or forget your device than to have someone hack into it. We will cover the best ways to keep the data on your devices safe.

Set proper password protections

The first line of defense to keep someone from browsing through your data is having the Screen Lock enabled. Keep this locked with a strong password or your fingerprint. Ensure that the device Auto-locks after a short period of time.

Backup your device regularly

Backup your device data regularly to give yourself peace of mind should the device become lost or damaged. Many apps will store pictures and videos to the cloud. Having a full backup of all your settings and apps to easily restore to a replacement device allows for a much faster recovery time.

Avoid public charging stations

While these stations may seem convenient, a compromised charging port can lead to your data being downloaded by hackers while you think your device is charging. That’s because your charging cable is able to transmit data while charging your device. This technique of hacking phones is known as “juice jacking,” according to Krebs on Security, a news outlet on cybercrime and computer security.

Physical protection of your devices

Turn off devices or make sure they are screen locked when not in use.  Minimize the risk of being stolen by storing devices where they are not visible.

Mobile device tracking and encryption

Enable the tracking settings on your devices so should they be lost or stolen, you may be able to locate the device. With encryption services enabled, the data on your device stays protected making it unreadable without the encryption key. If you have remote access to your devices, you can auto lock a missing/stolen device and wipe the data should it be at risk.

Making sure your devices are secure should be your top priority even if they seem a bit complicated. Most of these suggestions will only take minutes to enable and setup. Others such as backups and encryption may take a bit longer. If you have any questions on how to keep your mobile devices secure, please reach out to our team for assistance and we can help you with it or at least guide you to some easy to follow tutorials.